Recovery
by Dewey'sGirl
Summary: Ziva recovers after a week in a coma, but her recovery isn't easy for anyone...
1. Chapter 1

Ok, I know this story was complete, but I've had so many reviews asking me to write more, my muse finally complied… I'm posting it as a new story because the writing syle of the last one didn't suit this part of the story, and if you haven't read critical condition, you need to before reading this one. I also fulfilled the requests for more tiva… I'm not sure how good it is, but I tried. I just hope it isn't too soppy.

My French is limited, and I don't speak Spanish or Italian, so all mistakes are courtesy of Google languages.Oh, and many thanks to my awesome Beta, Jess.

* * *

Ziva's recovery was long and hard, with little progress happening very slowly. Even after the drugs had worn off, her muscles were still weak, and at first she couldn't even talk or feed herself. Jenny gave the team a week off, and they insisted on feeding Ziva, although it took three meals to work out that only Ducky or McGee should do it; Tony took the opportunity to tell Ziva about every movie he had ever seen, while Gibbs was continuously wiping her mouth even when it was clean. The first major progression was during Abby's turn feeding her; Ziva had become so frustrated with Abby's choo choo trains and aeroplanes that in anger and frustration, she had sent the bowl flying with a swipe of her hand. Although Tony and Ducky had rejoiced at the return of some of her strength, Abby was less than pleased with her white-turned-orange shirt. Ducky, on the other hand, kept her entertained with his stories, and McGee was careful enough that she didn't even need a napkin or a bib when he fed her, which made her feel much less juvenile than Abby's attempts.

After about a week, she was strong enough to feed herself and even hold a book or newspaper, and had begun physiotherapy on her legs. The good news was that her brain signals were not significantly impaired, however she remained physically weak. It took her only two days to regain her balance and strength enough to walk on her own, despite the therapists insisting that she should stop and rest, that she was doing too much too quickly. To every one's surprise, it was towards Tony that she took her first steps, and him that caught her as she tripped on his foot. Clutching her to his chest, it was second nature for him to kiss her head, and she had leant into his chest, although afterwards he decided that he had imagined that. Tony later had to explain the kiss when he was confronted by a very angry Gibbs citing rule number 12. However, the therapists had been right; she spent the next two days back in bed with strained leg muscles and painkillers. Gibbs had even spent the first night afterwards with her, holding her hand as she struggled to cope with the pain and frustration.

It took two days for her to speak again, but when she did, it was in a mix of Hebrew, Arabic and Turkish. It took continuous phone calls to Jen and a couple of bilingual dictionaries to interpret every thing Ziva tried to say. The situation slightly improved when she remembered Spanish and French, at least then there was more people to interpret. The first time she spoke English –to call Tony a jackass- was a welcome relief, until everyone realised that she was no longer mixing two languages together, she was now mixing six together, with a little Russian, Italian and German thrown in. This worried the neurological team, who suspected that, given Ziva's evident frustration, she knew what she wanted to say, but the signals were getting mixed up somewhere, resulting in the use of multiple languages. Gibbs and Abby started trying to teach her ASL, with the doctor's recommendation, hoping that the physical requirements of the language would minimise the confusion in her head, but it was too slow for Ziva's liking; she soon got bored and learnt very little.

The accident had also affected her long-term memory-she had trouble with memories resurfacing at random times, as fresh as if they had happened yesterday. Gibbs had stuck his head in to check on her at midnight one night to find her curled up sobbing into her pillow; she had dreamt about killing Ari, every little detail perfect, and had woken in a strange place wanting her brother. Gibbs sat with her for the rest of the night; holding her hand when ever she whimpered in her sleep, whispering to her, trying to alter the memories she was re living but knowing, ultimately, he could do nothing about it, and that only increased his own frustration and anger.

Finally, about two weeks after she had woken from the coma, she snapped. A fortnight of pent up anger and frustration exploded when the doctor recommended not using any firearms for at least 6 months, probably more. She had cursed at him in every language she knew, thrown a knife at him, and knocked over the tray table, until he had quickly left the room to phone for backup- Tony. Despite being back at work, Tony had driven like a madman to reach the hospital, where he ran to her room to comfort her.

She was sitting up in bed, bent over her knees, sobbing. Tony rushed in, and stopped at the doorway, startled by the tears. He quietly walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey there Delilah", he murmured, and she looked up at him, eyes rimmed red, and held out her arms. He sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around her, rocking her and murmuring that it was all going to be alright. "Non," she sniffed. "Il ne sera pas bon." Tony didn't need to understand the French, her expression said it all. It wasn't going to be alright. "Tony", she whispered into his arm. She paused as she tried to remember the right word. Peur? No. Miedo? Angst?

"Scared." She finally whispered to him. He held her closer and whispered right next to her ear. "Don't be scared. You're strong, you're determined, you can get over this. We're all here to help you, we'll look after you. Don't worry. I love you, you'll be ok." He closed his eyes and swore silently as he realised what he had just said, but Ziva didn't seem to have noticed. "No puedo tener un arma de fuego. Non riesco a buttare un coltello. Je suis intile." Tony had to stop and switch his brain from English to Spanish to Italian. Finally he reassured her "You don't need a gun. From what the doctor told me, you're regaining your skill with a knife." She smiled weakly at the memory of the doctors shocked expression as a knife was hurled towards him. "I didn't understand the last bit. French?" She whimpered "I'm useless," and broke into fresh tears.

Tony couldn't stand it. He put a gentle finger under her chin, raised her face to see his, and whispered "You're not useless." He kissed her gently on the lips, and murmured "You're never useless. You're pretty and smart and, and gorgeous and intelligent and determined." He pulled away slightly so that she could see his eyes, so that she could see he was telling the truth. "Remember what the doctor said, about not walking for a few weeks? It took you two days because you practised and practised." He put a finger to her lips as she was about to speak. "No, just listen. And I know that you hurt yourself, but it was hurting the whole time you practised, and you still kept trying. And you're talking and eating by yourself, and even your language is becoming more consistent. I mean, at least now you finish the sentence before you switch. 'Cause that whole changing languages between words thing…" he chuckled quietly. He looked back at Ziva, and she was smiling. "Tony?" she spoke quietly, slowly and precisely. "Thank you." She leant up and, equally softly, kissed him back.

Suddenly, Ziva's personality seemed to change. She was equally frustrated with her lack of progress, but made an effort now to slow down and work more carefully. Her language improved as she took her time finding the right words to say, she smiled more, and she was carefully to let everyone around her know that she appreciated the effort and sacrifices they were making for her. Going more slowly, she seemed to improve much faster. It was another week before she was able to walk confidently and when ever she liked, but she was cautious not to do too much and create more harm to her strengthening legs. She could also conduct an entire conversation in one language, although it was still unpredictable as to which or the six she knew fluently would be used.

When, only a month after coming out of the coma, she was ready to go home, the doctors were amazed at her progress. Although it would be awhile before she was allowed back in the field, the neurologists had suggested desk work and helping with investigations in order to aid her mental recovery, and Ducky had said that he would be more than happy to have her help him when Gibbs had nothing she could do. She was also told to slowly work on her combat skills and hand eye co-ordination, although McGee doubted the ball exercises suggestion by the doctors would be used; he thought he saw Ziva eyeing off a butter knife when target practise was mentioned.

No, the real question was, seeing as she wasn't allowed to go home on her own yet, where would she stay…?


	2. Chapter 2

"There is no way in hell I am letting her stay with you DiNozzo

"There is no way in hell I am letting her stay with you DiNozzo!"

Jenny sighed as she heard, once again, Gibbs and DiNozzo arguing over where Ziva was going to stay once she was released from hospital. She had had enough. She picked up her phone. "Cynthia, I'd like to see Special Agents Gibbs, DiNozzo and McGee, Doctor Mallard and Ms Sciuto in my office ASAP please." She sighed again; if she was quick, maybe she could finish this document before she had to play Mum.

5 minutes later, Abby slipped into the director's office. She was the last to arrive, so Jen tried to call everyone to order, but Gibbs and DiNozzo continued to bicker.

"She is not staying with you, I am not blind…"

"No Jethro, but nearly." The room went silent as everyone processed what Jenny had dared to say to the boss. She smiled wickedly. "Now that I have your attention…" she glared at Gibbs and DiNozzo "we are sorting this out once and for all. Ziva needs somewhere to stay while she recuperates, and we are talking this through like the adults we are, NOT" she raised her voice to override Gibb's impending interruption, "like the children we are currently acting like."

"Well I'm out of the running I'm afraid", Ducky said, sinking into the director's couch and lacing his fingers together. "Not with Mother the way she is… I have no doubt that she would love a house guest, however," he smiled wryly "I doubt Ziva would quite enjoy_ being_ the house guest."

"She's staying with me." Gibbs said it quietly, leaning on Jenny's desk. "I have a spare bedroom, she'll be fine."

"You also have steps", Tony pointed out in his know-it-all tone. "She can't manage a stair case every time she wants to go to the bathroom or get a glass of water."

"Well then I'm out as well", Abby shrugged. "I'm on the second story. No lift."

"I've only got one bedroom but I'm happy to have her" McGee offered.

"There is no way known she is sleeping on your couch McGee" Tony assaulted him. "No, Tony" McGee looked at him with that "if-you-let-me-finish-you'd-see-I'm-right" look. "I meant, she could have my room and I'd take the couch."

"It seems pointless when I have more than enough room at my place, plus the financial capabilities to look after her as long as she needs", Jen pointed out.

"You have more stairs than I have Jen!" Gibbs roared. The room dissolved into arguments for and against until Ducky yelled "STOP!"

There was complete silence for all of thirty seconds. Then Tony said slowly, "The way I see it, Ziva's best with me. I have a spare room, I have a lift to my apartment, and I don't have the official duties that come with a high profile job. I'm not on call like the director, Gibbs, Ducky or Abby. She is better off with me than anyone else."

Gibbs moved until he was eye to eye with Tony. "I am not leaving you two alone to play house DiNozzo. If you think I haven't noticed the looks that pass between you two… It's just not happening!!" he suddenly exploded. "Rule 12 is there for a reason!!" "Um, yeah, and there are a lot of reasons why I'm the best person for her to stay with. And, I mean, she was sandwiched between a car and a tree. What do you think'll happen?" he laughed and shook his head. "Not a lot. For three reasons." He took a step closer to Gibbs. "One, she's still pretty trashed. I mean, there's a reason she's not allowed home on her own yet. Two, we both know about rule 12, and we're both too scared of you to break one of your rules. And three, we both respect you enough not to break one of your rules." Tony took a deep breath. "I swear to you Gibbs. Nothing will happen."

Gibbs stared at him for about 10 seconds, and then silently stormed out the door. "Well, that's settled," said Jen in her "director voice', then followed Gibbs out the room. Everyone else stayed where they were, glancing from one to the other, until Abby said cheerfully, "Well. That was awkward."

Jenny ran down the stairs and caught the lift just before it closed. She and Gibbs stood silently for a moment before Gibbs flicked the emergency stop switch, and the lift ground to a halt. When he looked at Jen he could see the amusement in her eyes.

"What?" he demanded. "You think I shouldn't have been so hard on him?"

"I think you shouldn't worry so much about rule 12. Tony and Ziva are very well suited to one another, and both could be relied upon to keep it out of the office. Ziva is very professional."

"That's only part of what I'm worried about." Gibbs rubbed a hand over his face as Jen arched an eyebrow. Finally, he sighed, and when he spoke, it was nearly a whisper. "I care about them Jen, both of them. And I hate the thought of them getting hurt, by anyone." "Even each other?" Jen asked. "Especially each other," Gibbs replied. "They're partners, trust me, it'll happen." He flicked the switch and the lift roared back to life. Jen stopped him as the lift doors opened.

"What makes you think they'll hurt each other?" she asked. "Your famous gut?" he shook his head, and leant in until he was right next to her ear. "History." He stalked off, leaving her standing by the lift, shell-shocked.


	3. Author's note

Quick authors note I forgot to add before I posted chapter two:

Quick authors note I forgot to add before I posted chapter two:

Sorry this chapter took so long, I wrote it and tried to post it and couldn't figure out how. Then, when I was taught how to, I'd given up on writing the story… I will have my last exam next Tuesday and I'll get straight back onto this story. I'm not quite sure where I want to go with it looking at the big picture, to be completely honest I expected it to crash and burn, so any suggestions are more than welcome.

Lastly, many thanks to your hero and mine VerityFrancesB, the ONLY PERSON TO REPLY TO MY SOS SIGNALS!! If not for her, you'd still be waiting and I'd still be studying instead of posting stories and author's notes…

And to all you evil people who don't warn poor Australian viewers who are still at the beginning of season five when you reveal spoilers, or say 'There's none here' and then there is….. EVIL!! CURSE YOU!! However, I, unlike the rest of you, can continue to live in denial….

So without further ado….


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this took me so long; when I said Tuesday, I forgot to take into account that I had state championships coming up, and had promised my coaches tons of training to catch up with what I missed 'cause of Uni this semester. Then, writers block. But I have imagined up lots for upcoming chapters, so look forward to that! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you didn't really help the writers block but you made me feel guilty when I was playing solataire instead of writing! And thanks to dunnozzo for the time and effort into his review. It helped and contributed quite a few ideas; I promise it won't all be fluff and drivel!

Plus I don't own any of the characters, yadda yadda ya... And in the immortal word of Billy Maddison, 'reading is good! can we start the story now?'

* * *

'Oh my god Tony!' Abby exclaimed as she walked into Tony's apartment.

Yeah, I know' he grinned at her. '60 inch plasma with blu ray and High Def TV, surround sound, dual DVD and VHS player, over 300 movies-' 'Not that Tony!' Abby cried out. Gibbs walked in behind her and looked around critically. 'How do you live in this pig sty, DiNozzo?' he asked. 'Gibbs!' Abby yelled. 'Ziva can't stay here!' 'It's not that bad' argued Tony. Abby turned on him, towering over him as only Abby could. 'You've never seen Ziva's house, have you Tony?' As he opened his mouth to answer no, she continued to rant. 'It's immaculate Tony, absolutely spotless!' she turned back to Gibbs. 'She can't stay here! She won't rest! She won't be able to! She'll just clean!!" A quick glance at the look on Gibb's face confirmed Abby's theory, and Tony suddenly started grabbing empty pizza boxes and drained beer bottles, shoving DVD's back onto shelves, and trying to fold a large blanket which resided on the couch for the nights he didn't make it from there to his bed after a late night watching movies. After a moment, Abby starting helping as Gibbs surveyed the guest room. 'Hey!' he shouted. Tony stopped, horror-struck. 'I thought the guest room was clean!' he groaned in dread. 'It is clean' Gibbs stated. 'I just couldn't believe it.'

McGee struggled to carry the massive suitcase from the back of his car to Tony's apartment as Jenny helped Ziva put of the car and towards the front doors. 'I'm fine Jen' Ziva insisted as she tripped on the uneven pavement and pitched forward. Holding her up until she had found her feet again, Jen just raised an eyebrow. 'Not a word' Ziva ordered. Jen laughed. 'Ziva, it will be a while before you're back on your feet. That's why the doctors don't want you home alone yet.' 'Yes, which is why I must stay with Tony in his… his…' she struggled to find the word she wanted. 'His…animal… mud…' 'Sty?' McGee supplied nervously. 'Yes, sty!' she cried, throwing her hand in his direction. McGee glanced at the director. Again, Jenny laughed. 'Don't look so worried Agent McGee; I'm sure Ziva has always had trouble with those sort of words.' 'What sort of words?' he asked. 'The kind they don't teach you at school' she laughed again. 'I'm pretty sure she knew that word' McGee argued. 'I mean, we work with Tony, how could she not know that-' he stopped abruptly as Jen glared at him. 'Nothing to do with the accident' Jen stated firmly. McGee gripped the suitcase harder and walked quickly ahead, worry still in his eyes.

Jen turned her head to Ziva. 'We discussed this, I thought you didn't mind staying with Tony?' she asked. 'It is not that' Ziva said a little too quickly. Jen grinned silently. 'I mean, it is bad enough that I am a saddle without complaining about who I stay with…' 'Burden, Ziva, not saddle' Jenny corrected gently. 'That is what I meant' she grumbled. She took another breath. 'But I just want everything to be left again.' She sighed as she realised her mistake. 'I want to be able to say what I mean the first time around. I want to be able to go for a run. I want to throw a knife, I want to want to read a book without having to translate through five different languages before I arrive at the one I want, Je veux rentrer à la maison, non, ah….Yo quiero ir a casa.. Heim… agh!' She was at full rant by this stage, and Jen squeezed her shoulder as they went in the front doors and waited for the lift. 'I understood the French, Ziva' she murmured. 'Don't stress so much.' There was a large pause. 'But I wanted to use the English!' Ziva said quietly, as the lift arrived at Tony's floor. 'I want to be able to speak what I want all the time, with out having to think about it first' she said slowly and deliberately. As she spoke, she tripped on a bubble in the carpet and nearly fell again. By the time the two women had arrived at Tony's apartment, Ziva was on the verge of a full blown temper. With a quick knock on the front door, Jen pushed it open to reveal two very guilty faces still trying in vain to clean up before Ziva arrived. Abby was still for only a moment before exclaiming 'Ziva!' and jumping up to lead her into the room, trying to discreetly drop an armful of washing while she was at it but failing. 'We tried to clean it up a bit before you saw it, but it was too messy…' Tony just stared like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

Still leaning heavily on Jen, Ziva looked slowly around the room, taking in the black rubbish bag over flowing with beer bottles and pizza boxes, the DVDs sitting in stacks on the floor, Abby's feet buried under a pile of jumpers and jackets, and did the only thing she could do when faced with an indefinite amount of time living in DiNozzo's pig sty; laugh.

The living room was clean in an unexpected amount of time with everyone pitching in to help. Ziva insisted on helping until it was pointed out to her that the only task she could manage in her state was sorting laundry, stinky, sweaty, DiNozzo laundry. After that, she sat in the guest room with Jen, who unpacked her suitcase as Ziva directed where she wanted everything.

No one realised that McGee was missing until he arrived back an hour later with shopping bags dangling from every limb. 'McGee!' Abby exclaimed. 'Where have you been?' 'Shopping' he replied, putting the bags on the kitchen floor. 'I thought Ziva might want some _real _food while she's recovering.' Ziva smiled at him, but Tony frowned. 'Well done McBrown Nose' Tony said sarcastically. 'But I have real food.' 'Ah actually Tony no you don't' McGee replied back. 'I checked and you have bread and peanut butter and jelly. So I got fresh bread, some fruit and vegetables, muesli bars, some dips… snack foods for during the day… steak, chicken breast, stir fry ingredients…' he stopped at the look on Tony's face. 'I can cook McGeek!' he scowled. 'You didn't have anything to cook_ with_ Tony' Abby pointed out. 'Hey! Whose side are you on!' he yelled at her, coming towards her and McGee quite menacingly until he was halted by a slap to the back of the head.

Ziva burst out laughing and within moments was on the floor, clutching her ribs and trying in vain to stop the mixture of laughter and coughing that had resulted. Abby ducked around DiNozzo to get her a glass of water, and Jenny knelt next to her on the floor trying to calm her down. When she was able to breathe again, Jenny and Gibbs (after a glare at DiNozzo's step forward to help) helped her onto the couch. Abby tucked her in with a blanket and Bert, and Tony promised them all the best pasta ever made, as if to prove a point. The evening ended with the entire team, sitting in Tony's living room eating pasta and, in Tony and Abby's case, chasing one another around the apartment and spilling pasta on a certain very annoyed and menacing boss…

It would not be so bad, Ziva reflected as she lay in bed in Tony's guest room later that night, full of pasta, clean and in fresh pyjamas. Who knew, staying with Tony might even be interesting, she grinned.

Jenny and Gibbs walked down the street towards their cars. Both had been the last to leave Tony and now Ziva's apartment, for different but the same reason; Jen had stayed to help Ziva change for bed, and Gibbs had wanted to make sure Jenny didn't encourage anything while the three of them weren't under his nose. 'Was it the nightmare you were imagining Jethro?' Jenny asked, fishing in her handbag for her car keys. 'Not yet Jen' he answered, hands in his pockets. 'But that doesn't mean it won't end up that way. And don't roll your eyes at me Jen, we both know how bad breaking rule 12 is'. Jen stopped and looked back at him, her face the vision of innocence. 'But I wasn't facing you Jethro, what makes you think I would dare roll my eyes at you?' he gave her a smile, and her face collapsed into one as well. 'I know you too well Jen' he grinned and laughed. She suddenly sobered. 'Was I really that bad Jethro?' she asked regretfully. 'Nah Jen' he answered. He placed a hand on her shoulder as she turned to walk away, and she turned back to him. 'We both were'. With another sad look, Jenny triumphantly pulled out her keys and walked to her car.

* * *

For everyone who doesn't speak one of Ziva's languages, she wants to go home. And I'm thinking of changing the way I layout my stories, a new line for each set of dialogue or something, I'm not entirely happy with how it is now... the big chunks of text arn't so easy to read on the screen sometimes... let me know.


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